1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circulation-type banknote/check deposit/withdrawal apparatus using a lateral deposit/withdrawal scheme and a method of handling banknotes and checks applied thereto, and more particularly, to a circulation-type banknote/check deposit/withdrawal apparatus using a lateral deposit/withdrawal scheme and a method of handling banknotes and checks applied thereto, wherein banknotes and checks of various sizes can be deposited and withdrawn through a single deposit/withdrawal unit; a carrying path is configured to carry the banknotes and checks deposited through the deposit/withdrawal unit in a lateral direction; and the carrying path is provided thereon with a medium alignment unit for aligning the carrying position on the carrying path of the banknotes and checks being carried thereon, so that the banknotes and checks, which have been deposited through the deposit/withdrawal unit and are being carried in the lateral direction, can be carried in a state where the banknotes and checks are aligned with a predetermined alignment position on the carrying path by the medium alignment unit, and stacked into respective corresponding cassettes, thereby optimizing the sizes of check and banknote cassettes based on the sizes of corresponding media (banknotes and checks), enhancing the carrying efficiency of the media on the carrying path by using the lateral deposit scheme, and increasing the processing speed of the media while reducing the volume of the deposit/withdrawal apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an automated teller machine (ATM) is an automation device for financial services that is capable of assisting basic financial services such as deposit or withdrawal of banknotes or checks regardless of place and time without a bank clerk and is configured to automatically perform a financial transaction such as deposit or withdrawal of banknotes or checks by using a medium such as a card or bankbook.
Such an ATM may be operated during an extended time even after a bank window has been closed, or may be installed to be manlessly operated in a store such as a department store or supermarket. Thus, the number of installed ATMs tends to be rising.
Further, in addition to an ATM for processing deposit and withdrawal of banknotes, an ATM for processing deposit and withdrawal of both banknotes and checks at the same time appears recently, thereby improving customer's convenience in view of financial transactions.
The ATM as described above has a bankbook processing unit and a card/transaction-receipt processing unit to support a financial transaction using a medium such as the bankbook or card, and further has an input/output unit for inputting and displaying transaction contents and a deposit/withdrawal apparatus for processing deposit and withdrawal of banknotes and checks.
Here, the deposit/withdrawal apparatus is a core component in the ATM, which requires a carrying mechanism for carrying banknotes and checks and a high level of discrimination identification and processing technology for discriminating and receiving the banknotes and checks to be carried.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing an ATM and a banknote/check deposit/withdrawal apparatus provided therein according to the related art.
In the conventional ATM as shown in FIG. 1, a banknote deposit unit 1 for allowing banknotes to be deposited into the ATM, a banknote withdrawal unit 2 for allowing banknotes to be withdrawn from the ATM, and a check deposit unit 3 for allowing checks to be deposited into the ATM are provided within the ATM while a banknote insertion unit 4, banknote discharge units 5, and a check deposit unit 6 are provided in a customer reception area of the ATM. Accordingly, since the banknotes or checks should be deposited and withdrawn through the respective insertion and discharge units when a customer utilizes the ATM, there is a problem of inconvenience in use. Further, since three units should be operated in the ATM, there are disadvantages of increase in the volume of the apparatus and deterioration of the operational efficiency as well as a problem of frequent replenishment of banknotes to be withdrawn due to inability to circulate the banknotes.
Accordingly, an ATM with an enhanced operational efficiency has been used recently, wherein as shown in FIG. 2, the ATM includes a banknote deposit/withdrawal unit 11 by which banknotes are deposited and withdrawn and a check deposit/withdrawal unit 12 by which checks are deposited and withdrawn, further has a customer reception area provided with a check deposit/withdrawal unit 13 through which the checks are inserted and a banknote deposit/withdrawal unit 14 through which the banknotes are inserted, and is also configured to be capable of circulating banknotes, thereby offering customer's convenience.
However, the ATM including two deposit/withdrawal units as described above also has the following disadvantages: if a customer wishes to deposit both banknotes and checks at the same time through the ATM, there is cumbersomeness since the checks should be inserted through the check deposit/withdrawal unit 13 while the banknotes should be inserted through the banknote deposit/withdrawal unit 14; and separately providing a carrying path for carrying the checks and a carrying path for carrying the banknotes mainly contributes to increases in the production costs and volume of the ATM.